Originally Posted by
thompsw
You'll spend in the neighborhood of $1000 or more for a wheel built with generator hub + lights and mounts.
You can spend that much, but it's not necessary. Even with a SON28 hub I didn't get close to 4 digits.
SON28 - $325 (LBS)
DT RR1.1 - $70 (AE Bike)
DT 2.0 spokes - $25 (REI)
Supernova E3 - $200 (Harris Cyclery)
$620 in parts, built the wheel myself, and my rando rack has a mount eyelet for generator lighting. Even with some expensive mounts it wouldn't add more than another $40 overall. Even more could be saved with using a Shimano 3N80 hub and cutting the price by over $100.
I weighed the decision between batteries and generator back and forth for quite a while before buying a system. The realization that the weight of a hub system versus the equivalent number of batteries for an all-night ride was an even trade off without the hassle of having to carry and swap batteries was the real selling point for me.
If I were to have gone with a battery system, then DiNotte was the route I'd have taken. Their small profile lightweight Li battery series is pretty impressive, and the output times for their lighting setups is admirable.